Rhodes’s grave good for the economy

Presid ent Emmerson Mnangagwa, addressing traditional leaders recently, called for the removal of Cecil John Rhodes’s remains from the Matopos.

He said: “We still have Rhodes’ remains in Matobo. What do you think about it? If you go to the shrine, you don’t know whether you are talking to Rhodes or our ancestors. His remains must be returned to where he hailed from and we can also have our ancestral remains which are being kept in Europe,”

But Zimbabweans should not underestimate the impact that Rhodes has on the past and future of Zimbabwe. Rhodes’s grave brings in a minimum of USD300 000 per year to Zimbabwe’s economy through his family connections around the world and those who wish to walk in his footsteps.

He is a dead man; we all have a history and he is a man who has a great history. Whether it is good or bad, it is still part of Zimbabwe’s history and we can never erase it from the compendium of people and events that shaped our country..

There is no Zimbabwe without Cecil John Rhodes. Like it or not, the best we can do as a nation is make lots of money from those that worship him while we can and that will be for a very long time.

For God’s sake it’s only a grave and this man will never rise again.

Let’s make money from it; lots and lots of money. The negativity the removal of his grave will spawn around the world is disastrous; we have done the same with former President Robert Gabriel Mugabe by trying to erase him from the country’s history.

What guarantee is there that people calling for the removal of Rhodes’s remains from the Matopos will be buried in Zimbabwe themselves and that their graves will remain in the country? We are Africans and the wishes of a dead person are always respected. What has happened to our African culture and values? Who are we to defy a dead man’s wish? Let’s respect Rhodes and protect what he did and make flipping lots of money from his tourists.

By the way, where is the grave of Lobengula, Chaminuka, Nehanda, Kaguvi and all the other luminaries of Zimbabwean and African history? If these had been known Zimbabwe would be making lots of money from people paying pilgrimage to the shrines. But because of lack of foresight Zimbabwe and Africa are not making any money from these potential gold mines.

Zimbabwe should stop fighting a dead white man who is an ineradicable part of our history, no matter how anyone wishes to look at it.